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F. A. Gilfillan Papers, 1894-1984

By Finding aid prepared by Trevor Sandgathe

Collection Overview

Title: F. A. Gilfillan Papers, 1894-1984

Predominant Dates: 1921-1978

ID: MSS Gilfillan

Primary Creator: Gilfillan, F. A. (Francois Archibald) (1893-1983)

Extent: 11.0 cubic feet. More info below.

Arrangement: The F. A. Gilfillan Papers are arranged into five series: Series 1: Correspondence, 1894-1984; Series 2: Professional Records, 1912-1975; Series 3: Biographical Materials, 1915-1984; Series 4: Photographs, Slides, Audio Recordings and Motion Picture Film, 1921-1978; Series 5: Artifacts and Ephemera, 1918-1978. Materials are arranged alphabetically, chronologically, and/or by subject.

Languages of Materials: English [eng], Russian [rus]

Abstract

The F. A. Gilfillan Papers are comprised of materials generated and assembled by Francois Archibald Gilfillan, Dean of the School of Science at OSU from 1939 to 1962. The collection includes professional and family correspondence, administrative documents from OSU and other educational organizations, and materials documenting Gilfillan’s work as a public school teacher, member of the U.S. Army Chemical Warfare Service, and Oregon State faculty member and administrator.

Access to audio recordings and related transcripts in Series 4 is restricted due to provisions set by the donor. For more information about access to restricted materials, please see our Guide to the Special Collections and Archives Research Center.

Scope and Content Notes

The F. A. Gilfillan Papers are comprised of materials generated and assembled by Francois Archibald Gilfillan, Dean of the OSU School of Science from 1939 to 1962. The collection contains extensive correspondence with colleagues, family members, and friends including photographer Margaret Bourke-White and author Antonina Riasanovksy. The collection also contains records from education and research-oriented organizations including Scientists of Tomorrow, the Oregon Academy of Science, the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology, the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI), the National Teacher Training program, and the Junior Engineers’ and Scientists’ Summer Institute (JESSI). Some OSU School of Science administrative documents including budget sheets, reports from the registrar, and memoranda are available. Correspondence and documentation of Gilfillan’s involvement in professional and social organizations including the Blue Key, Phi Kappa Phi, and Phi Sigma honors societies, the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, the OSU Order of the Spoon faculty club, and the Corvallis Rotary Club are also present.

In addition, the collection contains examples of Gilfillan’s coursework from OAC and Yale and employment records and materials from his time as a public school teacher, member of the Chemical Warfare Service, employee at Calco Chemical Company, and professor at University of Florida. The Gilfillan collection also includes papers and speeches delivered by Gilfillan and notebooks containing notes, schedules, and meeting agendas. Also included in the collection are newspaper clippings relating to Gilfillan, biographical sketches, results of a survey of extant volumes of the Nuremberg Chronicle, songs, poetry, and drawings generated and collected by Gilfillan, family holiday cards, numerous honors and awards, photographs, slides, and several scrapbooks.

Absent from the collection are substantive records relating to Gilfillan’s duties as Dean of OSU’s School of Science and materials from his tenure as interim University President.

Biographical / Historical Notes

Francois Archibald Gilfillan was born in Ninnekah, a small town in central Oklahoma, in 1893. As a child, he and his family moved from Oklahoma to Bowie, Texas. In 1910, Gilfillan enrolled in the Polytechnic College of Texas (now Southern Methodist University). The following year, he visited an uncle in Washington and took a job teaching at a public high school. He later transferred to Coos River High School in Oregon. In 1915, Gilfillan left Coos Bay and enrolled at Oregon Agricultural College where he became Associate Editor of the OAC Barometer, President of the Pharmaceutical Association and a ROTC cadet captain. In 1918 he earned his bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy with first honors. After graduation he joined the U.S. Army and served briefly in the Chemical Warfare Service.

After the end of World War I, Gilfillan enrolled at Yale University and taught at the Milford Tutoring School. In 1920, he was awarded the Calco Chemical Company fellowship at Yale. The following year, he graduated with his doctorate in chemistry and worked briefly as a research chemist at Calco. In 1922 he accepted an assistant professorship in Pharmacy at Oregon Agricultural College, a position he left three years later in favor of work at the University of Florida. In 1927, Gilfillan returned to his alma mater at the behest of President William Jasper Kerr and was appointed Professor of Chemistry. The following year he married Violette Odekirk, a Portland native, with whom he would have four children: Mary Louise, Elizabeth Ellen, Nansie Jean, and Margaret Alice. In 1939 Gilfillan was promoted to Dean of Science. The following year, when President Frank L. Ballard fell ill, Gilfillan took on some of the duties of University President. In 1941 he was officially appointed Acting President of Oregon State College following the resignation of Ballard. He served in this position until October 1942 when A. L. Strand assumed the presidency. Gilfillan returned to his position as Dean of Science where he remained until his retirement in 1962.

Gilfillan did a great deal to further science education on both the local and national scale. He was instrumental in the formation and administration of the Junior Engineers’ and Scientists’ Summer Institute (JESSI), a founder of the OSU chapter of the Blue Key Honors Society, one of the five original incorporators of the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI), the Commissioner on Higher Education of the Northwest Association of Secondary and Higher Schools from 1947 to 1957, Secretary of the Oregon Academy of Science, and Vice President for Scientists of Tomorrow, Inc. for the latter half of the 1950s.

In addition to his professional duties, Gilfillan also maintained an active extracurricular life. He was a Rotarian, a Master Mason, and active member of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity. He spoke German, Russian, French, Italian and Chinook and could read Latin, Greek, Chinese, and Spanish. He also collected antique British silver, cultivated an authentic Japanese garden and amassed an impressive collection of rare books—many of which were donated to the Oregon State University Libraries Special Collections & Archives Research Center.

“Doc” Gilfillan passed away in 1983. In tribute to his service to the OSU community, the F.A. Gilfillan Memorial Award for Distinguished Scholarship in Science has been awarded annually since 1984.



Author: Trevor Sandgathe

Administrative Information

More Extent Information: 75 photographic prints, 725 slides, 6 audiocasettes, and 1 16mm film; 35 boxes including 1 oversize boxs

Statement on Access: Access to audio recordings and related transcripts in Series 4 is restricted due to provisions set by the donor. All other materials in this collection are open for research. For more information about access to restricted materials, please see our Guide to the Special Collections and Archives Research Center.

Acquisition Note: The Oregon State University Archives accessioned materials into the F. A. Gillan Papers in 1985, 1993, and 2006. In 2007, the contents of the Unitarian Church of the Larger Fellowship Records were transferred to the F. A. Gilfillan Papers. The Gilfillan Papers now reside in the OSU Libraries Special Collections and Archives Research Center.

Related Materials: Records from F. A. Gilfillan's service as Dean and interim President of Oregon State University can be found in the President's Office Records (RG 013), oral histories featuring F. A. Gilfillan and Violette Gilfillan in the Oregon Pioneers Oral History Collection (OH 001), and the Chemistry Department Records (RG 098). Materials related to the School of Science at OSU can be found in the College of Science Records (RG 024). Additionally, rare books donated by F. A. Gilfillan and the Gilfillan family are available in the McDonald Rare Book Collection (RB McDonald) and the History of Science Rare Book Collection (RB HistSci).

Preferred Citation: F. A. Gilfillan Papers (MSS Gilfillan), Oregon State University Libraries Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.

Creators

Gilfillan, F. A. (Francois Archibald) (1893-1983)
Bourke-White, Margaret (1904-1971)
Fedorova, Nina (1895-1985)
Gilfillan, Violette

People, Places, and Topics

Blue Key (Fraternity)
Bourke-White, Margaret, 1904-1971
College administrators--Oregon--Corvallis.
College presidents--Oregon--Corvallis.
Fedorova, Nina, 1895-1985
Future Scientists of America Foundation
Gilfillan, F. A. (Francois Archibald), 1893-1983
History of Science
Junior Engineers' and Scientists' Summer Institute (Oregon State University)
Language and languages--Study and teaching--Oregon--Corvallis.
Northwest Association of Secondary and Higher Schools
Oregon Academy of Science
Oregon Agricultural College. Department of Pharmacy
Oregon Institute of Marine Biology
Oregon Multicultural Archives
Oregon Museum of Science and Industry
Oregon State College. School of Science
Oregon State University
Oregon State University. School of Science
Phi Gamma Delta
Phi Kappa Phi. Oregon State Chapter
Rare books.
Science--Study and teaching (Higher)--Oregon.
Science--Study and teaching (Secondary)--Oregon.
Science museums--Oregon.
Scientists of Tomorrow
Unitarian Church of the Larger Fellowship
United States. Army. Chemical Warfare Service
University History
Yale University

Forms of Material

Audiocassettes.
Motion pictures (visual works)
Photograph albums.
Photographic prints.
Printed ephemera.
Scrapbooks.
Slides (photographs).


Box and Folder Listing